


Decisions

by HedwigsTalons



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Impossible decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23874781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HedwigsTalons/pseuds/HedwigsTalons
Summary: The world is a big place.  They can't be everywhere.  Someone has to decide who gets saved.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Decisions

“Come in Thunderbird Five. Status report.”

“No situations to report. All systems operating as expected.”

“Eos?”

“John has transferred monitoring for 48 hours. I will alert you of any developing situations.”

“Eos, what’s happened? Is John unwell?”

“I can report that all biomarkers are within accepted tolerances Thunderbird One.”

“Eos, open comms to the space elevator.”

“I cannot do that Scott.”

Scott frowned.

Cannot or will not?

The last mission had been a complete success with no injuries sustained and John wasn’t due down for a scheduled rest break so just why was the space elevator descending? He evidently wasn’t going to get any answers from the AI. 

He sank back into the couch, muscles still aching from the rescue they had only just returned from. His siblings had already retreated to their private sanctuaries for some much needed sleep but it looked like he would be denied that, at least until he’s had a chance to talk to his now rapidly-descending brother. John would be down soon enough. He would tackle the issue once he was Earth-side.

The click of the desk draw shutting woke Scott with a start. The couch was comfortable and exhaustion had clearly got the better of him but senses honed to years of living at the alert had kicked in.

He watched as the figure in blue straightened up, glass in one had bottle in the other, and continued its journey out to the patio. No wonder he hadn’t heard John’s arrival. The younger man moved like a ghost, gliding as though unencumbered by the gravity he had so recently returned to. The deathly pallor to his skin only served to deepen the comparison.

He followed on feet equally as silent, only pausing at the desk to grab a second glass. If John was reaching for the scotch within minutes of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere then he would probably need a drink too in order to tackle the cause of this unscheduled visit.

John perched on the very edge of the patio, gazing unseeingly out over the dark pool and beyond into the night. The tumbler in his hand contained a generous amount of the neat liquor. Scott lowered himself to the hard floor, ignoring the protests from his abused limbs, and poured himself a more sparing measure. His arrival went unacknowledged. 

“How many?”

“48”

“I meant fatalities, not hours off rota.”

“So did I.”

The face that finally turned towards him was beyond pale. John was fair skinned by Tracy standards but in the light spilling out from the lounge he seemed to glow. Turquoise eyes glistened suggesting the red rims were attributable to more than just tiredness.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“You can’t be in two places at once.”

“We could have tried.”

“Counterproductive. You have to trust me on this.”

Of course Scott would try and save everyone, all his brothers would. Rush from one rescue to another. Put their own lives in unnecessary danger in order to shave a few seconds off and move on to the next target. All of them willingly put their lives on the line every day.

But sometimes the world asked the impossible. Disasters didn’t line up in an orderly fashion.

Your call is in a queue. Your life is important to us. Please continue to hold on and an operative will be with you as soon as possible.

Not enough resources. Not enough brothers. They couldn’t be everywhere. He had to choose.

They say knowledge is power. But on days like today knowledge could be a distraction. Better to keep brothers in the dark about the situations they couldn’t affect.

Sometimes the world asked too much. Sometimes he had to choose who got saved. Had to weigh up the odds. The probabilities. The balance of risk and reward. Direct his brothers to the area they could be of most benefit and leave local rescue authorities to deal with the rest of the planet in the meantime. 

This was his burden. The part of his job that could cut to the core.

He needed a break from playing God.

He was the reassuring voice in the sky. The one that gave hope. The assurance that help was on its way. Announcing that once again International Rescue would be there to attempt the impossible. The world cried and he answered. That was how it was meant to go.

Not every call could be answered but every call was listened to. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wondered if he had made the right decision.


End file.
